here in japan it's 8:00 p.m. on a friday i'm james tengan in tokyo. welcome to "newsline." japanese prime minister shinzo abe has delivered a speech that many people around the world have been waiting to hear. he's issued a statement to mark 70 years since the end of world war ii. abe said he upholds the recognition of history taken by his predecessors. but he added some of his own thoughts. the prime minister read out his statement at a news conference in tokyo. he says japan has repeatedly expressed feelings of deep remorse and heartfelt apology

for its actions in the war. he also used the words colonial rule, and aggression. leaders in neighboring countries had been watching closely to see if abe would include those expressions. the prime minister also spoke about repentance prehe described japan's pledge to follow a different course after the war. >> translator: we shall abandon colonial rule forever. and respect the right of self-determination of all peoples throughout the world. with deep repentance for the war, japan made that pledge. while taking silent pride in the path we have walked as a peace-loving nation for as long as 70 years, we remain

determined never to deviate from this steadfast course. >> abe also touched on ending disputes over history. >> translator: in japan the post-war generations now exceed 80% of its population. we must not let our children, grandchildren, and even further generations to come who have nothing to do with that war be predestined to apologize. >> abe explained his generation has a responsibility not to pass down the burden of history to future generations. also in his statement the prime minister thanked countries that helped japan rejoin the international community. he said his nation has worked

hard to contribute to the asian region in the years after the war. abe vowed to make a greater pro-active contribution to peace and prosperity. nhk world's senior political commentator masayo nakajima joins us with his analysis. the much-anticipated statement has finally been released. >> the statement reflects his views on what japan did in the war. neighbors, critics and his conservative supporters have all been wondering exactly what was words he would include. some of his predecessors have used the past anniversaries for supporter. former prime minister tomiichi murayama spoke on the 50th anniversary and junichiro koizumi on the 60th. they said japan's aggression caused tremendous damage to people in asia. and they expressed feelings of deep remorse and offered heartfelt apologies.

china and south korea have demanded that abe not retreat from those statements. he has insisted that he's trying to downplay japan's war time record. abe said before that he would uphold the stance of his predecessors but he didn't clarify whether he would repeat their words exactly. >> how did you compare his comment to those of past prime ministers? >> well, abe wanted to make a new statement focusing on his vision of japan's future. he seemed reluctant to continue to repeat the same apology. but he was under pressure, and did adopt the words used by past administrations. then he didn't retreat from the past statements, rather he used some stronger words, for example he used "repentance over the war" instead of "remorse over the war." abe said that japan took the wrong course when it advanced along the road to war.

he wanted to emphasize that the country will never again pursue that course again. and in addition, when he referred to upholding the position of historical recognition outlined by previous administrations, he emphasized that japanese governments will remain unshakable into the future. but when he referred to making an apology, he emphasized that japan must not let its children and even generations to come, who have nothing to do with that war, be predestined to apologize. abe was concerned that china demanded apologies even after past japanese administrations expressed them clearly. and he wants to bring that kind of a thing to an end. but referring to colonial rule and aggression he used the expressions in a slightly different context from the past

statements. he quoted the presence of past prime ministers. >> what kind of impact do you foresee? >> well, abe had to choose his words carefully. he knows that what he said could either reassure south korea and china or lead to a further deterioration of relations with them. those relations are already tense because of differing perceptions of history. in addition, abe's statement comes at the time when he's trying to introduce a new security policy, one that would allow japan to exercise its right to collective self-defense. it would mean being able to defend friendly countries under attack. it's the biggest change to japan's post-war security policy. and it's something china and south korea are closely watching. but abe has been expressing the importance of holding summit talks with leaders of the two countries.

south korea has been noncommittal about the possibility. but china seems to be a little more open to meeting. abe's planning to go there next month. his visit could allow him to hold a third round of talks with president xi jinping, regardless of the context, content of the statement. >> thanks very much for putting things into perspective. that was nhk's senior political commentator masayo nakajima. there has been reacting to abe's statement. the secretary of the liberal democratic party has released a comment. it says abe's statements analyzed the reasons why japan got involved in the war. how the country overcame the past, and its great achievements in efforts under international law. the comment also says abe's statement showed the path the nation should follow in the future. tanagaki says abe's statement

was well balanced. >> translator: the statement took a broad perspective and was well balanced. well thought out. i believe and hope that the message will reach the hearts of chinese and south korean people. the cabinet should strive to improve ties with them based on abe's words. >> translator: the expression of colonial rule, aggression, deep remorse, and heartfelt apology, were mentioned as a reference. i don't know what prime minister abe thinks about these things. i think abe should have expressed his own opinion more clearly.

you're watching "newsline" coming to you from our studios here in tokyo. japanese companies have also incurred damage from the disaster in tianjin. a pharmaceutical company has temporarily halted operations at its tianjin plant. the company wants to make sure its employees are safe and confirm the supply chain of raw materials. retailer yeon owns a shopping mall about two kilometers from the blast site. the mall is damaged and its manager said they do not know when it will reopen. several employees at toyota fuji heavy industries and other automakers have been injured. more than 100 new cars are damaged. officials at those companies say they're still trying to determine the exact extent of the damage. a senior u.s. state department official has expressed concern over the recent detainments of human rights activists in china. the comments come ahead of

president xi jinping's visit to washington next month. u.s. and chinese officials are holding two days of closed-door talks on human rights in washington. among the participants are assistant secretary of state and chinese senior foreign minister official. after the first day, reporters were told the u.s. is concerned about china's crackdown on more than 250 people since last month. they include public interest lawyers and human rights activists. he said he also told li that the united states is disturbed by a proposed law in china that would tighten regulations against foreign nongovernment organizations. he said the recent deterioration of human rights in china makes the u.s. question the direction the country is heading. he said china may try to avoid discussion -- discussing the issue at the obama/xi summit. but he indicated that obama will press xi to improve his country's human rights record.

china's central bank has put an end to the three-day devaluation of the nation's currency. the people's bank of china has set the yuan's reference rate slightly higher than thursday. policymakers at the central bank manage the currency through what's known as a midpoint reference rate. they set friday's rate at 6.3975 yuan per dollar. that's up 0.05% from the previous day. the yuan has depreciated about 4.6% during the three-day devaluation. officials at the people's bank of china indicated on thursday the yuan devaluation is a short-term measure. market players say the chinese currency will stabilize for awhile. crude oil prices in new york briefly hit their lowest level in almost 6 1/2 years. commodity traders became concerned china's economic lowdown may reduce demand for oil.

sell orders for crude oil futures surged on thursday after china's central bank devalued the nation's currency for a third day. the benchmark west texas intermediate fell more than 3% from the previous day to below $42 a barrel at one point. that's the lowest since march, 2009, when the financial crisis hit oil prices. market players expect crude oil prices to stay low for awhile, as demand from china remains sluggish. checking the markets, the shockwaves from the yuan devaluation seem to be subsiding. but plunging oil prices hit some markets in the asia pacific region. in tokyo the nikkei average edged down by 0.37%, closing at 20,519. lower oil prices and profit taking from yesterday's gains dragged it down. the index lost 1% over this week. chinese stocks seem to be recovering. the shanghai suppose it gained nearly 0.3% to hit a three-week high.

for the week, the index rose 6%. that's the biggest weekly gain since early june. falling oil prices also hit resource heavy markets such as australia and malaysia. hong kong ended the day a touch lower, posting a fourth straight week of losses. the philippines lost 0.4%, extending losses to a third day. japanese food companies are promoting their products at a trade fair in hong kong. authorities there continue to restrict food imports from five japanese prefectures since the 2011 nuclear accident. more than 240 firms and organizations from japan are taking part in the three-day event. hong kong is the largest customer for japanese agricultural products. on display are fresh seafood delivered one day after being hauled in from the seas around japan. improved distribution has made this possible. other items on display include wagu beef, processed foods and seasoning.

representatives from fukushima prefecture offered samples of locally made liquor and juice to visitors. >> translator: japanese food is now under strict control so i have more trust and i'm not worried. >> i would like the emphasis on the safety of japanese food, because it has shipped item by item. >> the events will continue through saturday. a painting by pablo picasso will soon be heading back to france after going missing 14 years ago. the painting valued at $15 million disappeared from a paris museum in 2001. the painting is titled "the hairdresser." it was created in 1911. officials at the national museum of modern art in paris say the artwork was in storage when it was stolen. last december, u.s. customs authorities identified and seized the painting in a new york suburb. it had arrived from belgium via

an international parcel delivery service. the painting was handed over to a french government official at a ceremony at the french embassy in washington. >> returning to the museum in paris, "la coiffeuse" will come back to life. >> officials say the painting will be returned to the museum and put on display as soon as restoration work is completed. craftsmanship is never out of style. japanese artisans of the current generation continue to look to tradition for inspiration. nhk world's mitsuko suzuki took in an exhibition that shows how they're reconsidering the old and rendering it new. >> reporter: the flatness of paper takes on three dimensions, thanks to the skill of an artist with a knife. precise insessions make a delicate, yet bold impression. a kimono stands as big as life. surprisingly, it's made of

beads. the beads replace the role of fabric. but thread is essential. it forms the spine for the million and a half beads that make up the design. the work took three years to complete. >> wow. like it's really beautiful. >> it's just amazing. i can't imagine any other country having such patience for such incredible detail. >> reporter: six artists from different genres all over japan gathered for an exhibition in tokyo. what they share is a desire to add a delicate and a modern touch to a traditional art form. here you'll find a grocery store. and a traditional house. it's actually a miniature version of old japanese buildings, small enough for me to pick up. and plenty of attention is given

to every detail. if you take a look inside, there's even a clock on the wall. what you see is what you get as a matter of perspective. the room is shaped like a trapezoid. the ceiling also gets lower, and the floor rises towards the back. these techniques give a sense of depth. this is a roller coaster made out of paper. the attention to detail makes the 3-d creation so elaborate, and few people even notice it's a pop-up work. yoko keyated this. >> translator: i put a lot of emphasis on the beauty of delicate architecture, and how it creates a beautiful contrast of light and shadows.

>> reporter: hiroko let us peek at a notebook containing the secrets of her work. pages and pages of mathematical formulas. her structural calculations are precise to the level of less than 1/1000 of a millimeter. she even considers sunlight shining through branches. the light is visible from any angle, adding to the impression of the work, as both piece of modern art and architecture. hiroko said she gets inspiration from the other artists at the exhibition and their explorations of different genres. >> translator: when you're in one particular field, you live in a small world. seeing works by those blessed with such divine talent allows me to learn from their

techniques, their materials, and their creations. >> reporter: techniques, materials, and a creative spirit. japanese artists have been drawing on those resources for thousands of years and still do today. mikiko suzuki, nhk world. world war ii is making headlines this year and especially this week as people commemorate 70 years since the end of the deadliest conflict in history. for many the war is a distant event that belongs to history books. but others are still struggling to make sense of what happened. nhk world's masame ukon joined two people on their quest to learn more. >> reporter: in april a sister and brother came to tokyo to learn about their father's past.

william johnston and karen hairston are from the united states. their father was a crew member of a b-29 bomber during world war ii. his plane was shot down by the japanese army and he spent six months in japan as a prisoner of war. after his liberation, melvin tried to build a normal life. he didn't speak much about his experience as a p.o.w. he died in 1984 at the age of 65. >> i think as a second generation, i don't feel the hardships, but i do see that it's affected my father. so that is something that i think we are missing. >> his siblings contacted a japanese citizen's group that researchers prisoners of war.

karen and william visited central tokyo where their father's plane crashed. >> so this is the area the front of the plane came down. >> that's right. >> okay. >> reporter: the siblings were most affected by their visit to the prison camp where their father was one of about 600 captives. melvin kept a secret journal, and inside he counted the days until the freedom he craved. >> he also was very hungry in the camp, so he would draw pictures of food that he really craved for and he also missed his home. >> reporter: melvin johnson's mission was to target military facilities. the u.s. later changed tactics

and started dropping bombs on cities. karen and william visited a museum in tokyo. a large-scale air raid on the japanese capital killed an estimated 100,000 people. the survivor shared her experience. >> translator: there were many dead bodies lying on their stomachs. with their children in their arms. >> you know, it's war -- war is -- there is no good people, bad people, because they don't care. a bomb comes down, it's going to kill everybody. that, you know, i have not a good feeling about that. >> reporter: karen and william say the trip gave them a sense of closure. >> i think it changed his perspective a lot on war.

i think up to that time it was glorious. you know, you're a hero. but he never saw it that way. he just saw death and destruction and he experienced the camp. so -- i don't think my father had any animosity towards the japanese people. he knew -- he understood. it's war. we have to do what we're told. >> reporter: 70 years after melvin johnston's war, many young people are still being sent to battlefields. they know firsthand the impact conflict can have, long after the fighting ends. they plan to share their stories with those who have never experienced war in an effort to minimize suffering. masame ukon, nhk world, tokyo.

>> thought provoking. thank you for that report. you're watching "newsline," i'm james tengan. our meteorologist sayaka mori joins us for an update on local and world weather. >> gentlemen, james. 1e6 ear weather has been affecting many parts of japan this week. record breaking heavy rainfall was reported in several areas like kyushu and hokkaido and yesterday one tornado was reported that damaged structures. now, we are looking at more rain to come across many areas. there is a cold air mass in the upper atmosphere, and near the ground, warm and humid air is covering. so, the difference is causing instability. now more wet weather for you across many parts of the country. that includes tokyo, but getting drier on saturday, and sunday. and temperatures are going to be quite high. 35 degrees for the high on saturday. so take care of your health. now, monday will be very wet, so watch out for floods. now across china, heavy rain is still affecting the southeastern corner of the country, fujian

province is experiencing the worst of it. then we have a couple of tropical depressions over the western pacific and one of them will likely reach the marianas as we go into the next several days. guam could be feeling the effects of the storm over the weekend into early next week saipan was battered by tufen soudelor the other day. people are still dealing with the recovery efforts. now let's go to the north over the central pacific. there is a low pressure system over near hawaii which used to be a hurricane. now, it is expected to move away from hawaii, but still the big island will see heavy rain and strong winds at least in to your saturday. so, please watch out for flash floods, and across honolulu, due to the effect of the storm, humidity will be very high. so, on friday you could be feeling like 35 degrees or so. and wet weather will likely continue into saturday at least. now, across the southern

hemisphere, heavy rain is causing flooding across buenos aires. meanwhile, strong winds and also cold air is in the north causing low temperatures, while heavy rain with fall, snowfall, take a look at this video from bolivia, as well as peru. heavy snowfall up to 40 centimeters blanketed bolivia and peru on tuesday and wednesday, paralyzing towns and villages. in western bolivia authorities suspended travel between three provinces. residents in la paz were shivering under temperatures below zero degrees with the high of just 4 degrees. now, colder than average temperatures will likely continue at least into the next couple of days. so please bundle up. here's your extended forecast.

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newsroom. i'm molly hall. athens says yes to more bailouts after an all-night debate. the greek parliament backs a third financial aid package. we will have analysis coming up in the program. japan's prime minister marks the 70th anniversary of the end of work or two. shinzo abe says previous war apologies remain unshakable. however, future generations are not obliged to apologize. fires continue to burn in shenzhen -- in tianjin, china.